So here I am contemplating this whole blog thing. I have never done this before, except for the micro-blogging that comes from using Facebook. I decided “Hey, it is the themoodyblogger.com, why not give a go?” I probably won’t be as eloquent as my lovely bride, but I will try. I have been thinking about this for the last several days as to what to say. Many of you who know us, know about our incredible journey of adoption and our boys E and Z. It started out as a God ordained quest to get a cute little girl. The path to it seemed very clear. God gave us signs along the way. Some of the ball peen hammer variety, others of the 15 lb sledge type. In most cases our response was, “Ok, ok, we read you. We are moving on it.” Throughout this long arduous process, I have been the paperwork hog. Whether intentionally or not, that’s how it ended up. I think Lori said to herself, “Hey, he handles federal paperwork all the time, so this shouldn’t be too difficult for him.” All right here we go.

As Lori may have mentioned, we recently both had our 20 year class reunion at our perspective schools. 20 years ….where did the time go? Oh my, what happened? At Lori’s reunion, which was very good, they had a nice program at the banquet. One part of the program spoke of “The Path” we take. If I remember it correctly, it was about that over our life we make many decisions that take us down different roads that eventually takes us to where we end up today. Upon further reflection and a brief conversation I had with the lovely Lori, I believe we should think about it a different way. We all think that we are in control of our destiny, that we make our decision to send us down the “Our” path. In reality, we make a decision for a particular path and God takes the control. There are no coincidences or accidents. He is in control. Yes, our decisions do have consequences, but God uses those situations to shape us into what he wants us to be, either through our good decisions or in spite of our bad decisions. It is now God’s Path. Dumb decisions are turned into part of the God path for lives. Smart ones too. So the path is set before us. Coming to terms with the fact that it is God’s path for us can be difficult for many who feel that they cannot let go of the control. It’s a daily struggle. Can we let go? That’s the challenge.

For us, the path started out for the search for a little girl. God said, “Consider this.” Then, it transitioned into getting a little boy (E). God then said, “Hey I have something else for you to consider if you are up for it (Z)”. Now, 2 is the magic number. If we had decided no on Z, would God be upset with us? Of course not. Our decision still has God in it and his ultimate plan will still happen no matter what. I do find it amusing that when a while back we said “We are going for two – boys.” Many said, “That’s so awesome!” Now some of those same people are saying “Are you insane?” Nah, … well maybe a little bit. 😉

I’ll leave you with a couple of verses that I think illustrate my point from above.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

On the “What’s the status? When are you leaving?” front, cause I know you are asking. My best answer is that we aren’t sure. The Chinese Children Welfare Institute that handles the adoptions has all our paperwork. According to our adoption agency, it may take 1-2 months to process Z’s papers to get them to where E’s are now. However, our agency also said that it probably won’t take that long. Let’s us hope and pray as such. This last week has been somewhat stressful after hearing that. You would think after knowing that we found them, the next phase would be quick and painless. Arggggg! However, a little “angel” did provide us calming peace, and we have found ways to divert the “wait pain” for each of us. Lori and D have been studying Mandarin Chinese via Rosetta Stone. Lori has found it be challenging and D, …well,…he is a human sponge. Young minds, nuff said. I, on the other hand, have been painting E and Z’s room (formally, D’s room). Needless to say, I went with an Asian color theme and scheme. I hope it’s not too cliché and low key. I found some images of bamboo decals and projected them on the walls, traced them, and then painted. I even found the Chinese characters of the boys names and projected, traced, and painted them too. I think it looks pretty good. Check it out for yourself. Until next time. -Bill

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I love the color and you did a fantastic job on the decorations. I remember a scene in the movie about the minister Peter Marshall. His wife was ill and they were not getting any results with doctors or prayers. She said she just told God she was just turning it over to him to do his will and almost immediately she was better. Maybe it’s time for all of us to do the same. We love and support you.